After Effects
by Zero Infection
Summary: It had been three months since Aizen's defeat, and life was normal for everyone, except a certain orange haired young man. :D (God this title sucks)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First bleach fic YAY! Rated T for now, but who knows. Possibly a yaoi, not sure yet.

It had been three months since Aizen's defeat, and life was normal for everyone, except a certain orange haired young man. Tired brown eyes looked into the mirror. What was once bright orange hair had faded some, and his eyes seemed downcast. Running lithe fingers through messy hair, he let out a sigh. This was Ichigo Kurosaki. Nothing but a shadow of his former self...

Today was a day just like any other, the normal rude awakening of his father storming in with a kick aimed for him. He hadn't avoided it. The goat faced man frowned. "What is up with you lately? This isn't like you at all."

Ichigo knew what he was going to say, so he stopped him before he could even start. "I know. Just leave me alone." Walking downstairs he grabbed the toast on the table, completely ignoring Karin and Yuzu's greetings and walking out the door. The routine was always the same. Orihime and Keigo would join him on the walk, occasionally joined by Chad and possibly Uryu. They'd talk about Orihime's newest recipe, or what they were planning after school, and Ichigo only nodded and ignored them.

Classes were the same. Just nodding and agreeing with whatever was said in hopes to end the conversation sooner. He'd stare blankly at the board earning a loud thud of a book on his desk and the teacher admonishing him for ignoring her.

Lunch was just as boring. He'd grab his lunch and head to the roof and stare off into space, completely ignoring his meal. It felt like he was living someone else's life. Some random boring everyday life. His friends began to notice his behavior and often tried to cheer him up, but it always ended in failure.

They grew up as normal people. Sure, they gained powers and helped him, but even then, they were able to sink back into a normal life. They would never know his pain. He himself didn't even know his pain. For as long as he could remember, he'd wished he were normal. Now that his wish came true, he felt empty inside. Nothing felt real anymore.

He sighed as the bell rang and took one last look at his half-eaten lunch before tossing it into the garbage and heading back to class. As the final bell rang, he grabbed his bag and left without saying a word.

Even the walk home made him hurt. Everyday he would walk by that one pole and talk to the little girl, but she was no longer there. No, she was, but he could no longer see her. He'd made it a habit to visit her everyday so she wouldn't be lonely, and even brought her flowers. Now he was no longer able to see her. Sighing, he walked to the park and sat in the corner out of everyone's view.

He hated the look he got from them. That look of pity, like they knew his pain, but he knew they could never comprehend it. The whole world could burn away and he wouldn't care a bit. Ironic how he'd once fought so hard for this world, and now he no longer had a desire to live in it.

Taking out a small pocket knife, he brought the blade close to examine it. Sharp. Just like Zangetsu. A sad smile crossed his face as he remembered the fights. He began to realize that he only truly felt alive when he fought, but those days were over. Knife in-hand, he made a quick cut on his right arm. That warm blood. Soon there was another small cut, and he found himself smiling as he remembered the battle with Kenpachi.

This had become his new outlet. A way he could actually feel, and remember. He made it a point to wear a jacket now, and often said he just wanted to try a new style. In reality, it was to hide the small cuts he made on a daily basis. He felt much better, and began to talk a little more. Hell, he even joined in his friend's conversations, even if only a little. A few weeks had come by and like all good things, come to an end.

He had been taking a shower and letting the hot water run over his body, soothing tense muscles. Lathering his hair with the strawberry shampoo, he rinsed it out and turned the water off. He could hear Yuzu calling from the kitchen, and he knew it was dinner time. Drying off and getting into clean clothes, he put on his favorite jacket and headed downstairs.

Getting his bowl of stew, Ichigo sat at the end of the table. Just an ordinary meal, Yuku talking about wanting dance lessons, and Karin telling them about her soccer game. Even Isshin joined in. When Ichigo finished, he got up and put the bowl in the sink and began to head upstairs.

He was caught by the arm and turned to see a rather annoyed Isshin. "What do _you_ want?" He grumbled and Isshin had just about had it.

"I want to know why the hell you've been so damn withdrawn lately!"

Ichigo scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's none of your damn business."

Before he could turn to leave, Isshin pulled him back. "That's where you're wrong, Ichigo! It IS my business. Even the girls are concerned!" Ichigo gave him a serious glare before pulling away. Just as he did, Isshin grabbed tighter and the jacket ripped. He tensed. Isshin grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him against the wall. "Alright, start talking! I know this wasn't some accident."

He knew what the man was referring to, and it only angered him. "I fell."

"Bullshit! You don't just fall and get cuts like this!" Isshin knew what had happened just by looking at the cuts, but that didn't stop him from yelling. Letting go, he leaned close. "Just go to your damn room. Don't you dare expose the girls to such destructive behavior!" he hissed before pushing him up the stairs.

Ichigo went back to his room and slammed the door. Again, people just never seem to get the hint that he wants to be left alone. The rest of the night was uneventful, and this came as a surprise to him. Shutting his lights off, he flopped onto his bed and dozed off. Why couldn't they all just leave him alone? Was it really that much to ask? Even the lack of a mental reply to this depressed him. That hollow used to always mock him in his thoughts, but now he was just alone. He never thought that he would actually miss the albino hollow that had haunted him for so long.

Again, another ordinary morning. His father coming in with a kick to his side and frowning. This time he held a box. Ichigo was too surprised by the presence of the box to react when Isshin grabbed his right arm. "Looks like they aren't too deep." He muttered. There were quite a few, so he ended up wrapping a bandage all the way up his arm. "Why?"

"Why what? I told you, I fell! Now just drop it!" Ichigo said in a rather venomous tone. Yanking his arm away, he headed downstairs to the table. He was approached by his sisters who seemed rather concerned.

It was Yuzu who spoke first. "Ichi? Why are you all bandaged up? Did you get hurt?"

He could feel his father's eyes boring into his back. "Ah, it's nothing really. Just some scratches."

Karin interjected immediately. "And how did you get those scratches?" she said the last word with a stern voice.

Ichigo scratched at the back of his head as he wracked his mind for some clever excuse. Karin was always perceptive, so it had to be a good one. "I fell in metals class and someone left their tools out and it sliced my arm some. It's alright, really." He was thankful when she dropped it. After eating the scrambled eggs Yuzu made, he got up and headed out. "Later Yuzu, Karin!" Grabbing a different jacket on the way out, he headed to school.

He was rather early, as he didn't want to be around Isshin any more than he really needed to be. The day proceeded as usual. During third period however, he was called to the office. He heard the rest of the class snickering and guessing what kind of trouble he got himself into as he left.

Near the office, a woman greeted him. She was about in her thirties, and had long hair up in a bun. Oval glasses sat on the bridge of her nose as she smiled. "Mr. Kurosaki, correct?"

Ichigo nodded and followed her into a room he hadn't seen before. It was very plain, save for the few colorful drawing hanging on the walls, most likely drawn by the students. He sat down and glared at the woman. "And might I ask why I am here?" The irritation in his voice was evident.

"I'm Kiran Shidosa. Ms. Shidosa to you." She waited until the irritated teen nodded and motioned for her to go on. "So I hear you've been engaging in some rather risky behavior recently, so it is my job to help you through this. Mind tel-"

Before she could continue, Ichigo stopped her. "And what kind of risky behavior might that be?" He knew this was his old man's idea. It had to be. No one else knew.

She sighed. "You know exactly what I am talking about. Perhaps you could remove your jacket."

Doing as he was told, Ichigo put the jacket to the side. "You mean this cut I got in metals class?"

"What is troubling you so much that you must resort to hurting yourself?" she asked as if he hadn't said a word.

Ichigo was angered by the accusation. "Fine. I hurt myself. So what? It's not like I'm trying to kill myself."

Ms. Shidosa shook her head. "No, maybe not, but if the problem isn't addressed properly, then it can easily escalate to something worst. I'm here to help you with this."

He rolled his eyes. "Help? You actually think you can help me? Don't make me laugh. This isn't accidental. I know exactly what I am doing, so you can just fuck off."

She appeared to let out a sigh before taking out a clipboard. "It's precisely because it wasn't an accident that makes it a problem. If you would only let me in, let my try to help you. We can fix this mess. You just need to help me understand."

This time, he let out a maniacal cackle. "Help you understand? Has the old man finally lost it?" after a few more fits of laughter, he continued. "I no longer hear the voices in my head. The dead people I used to see are gone. I lost the power to slay incredible monsters." he couldn't help but laugh a little. Therapy? Seriously? A NORMAL HUMAN therapist? Yeah, that'll work.

The response he got was entirely expected. "This is serious! You're father's worried about you, so try taking it a bit more seriously!"

He could tell she was angry now. "Well, if you don't believe in spirits, ghosts and the like, there isn't a thing you can do to help me. Do us all a favor and stop trying."

"I cannot help you if you aren't willing to let me, you know." was her last-ditch attempt.

Ichigo got serious suddenly. "Who even said I WANTED help? I don't." He got up and shrugged his jacket back on before giving her one last glace. "If this is all you wanted, then I believe I'm done here." He didn't even have to look back to see the look of annoyance on her face. As he walked out, he swore he heard something along the lines of 'prick' and chuckled.

He didn't even bother heading back to class. His mind was a laughing mess, and he needed time to think, but as he stepped out of the building he was met with an expecting look from his father. Great. Just great. "I'm done. I'll be a good little boy now, so leave me alone." He didn't make it very far before Isshin grabbed him by the arm, resulting in a hiss from the teen. "Tch, are you TRYING to rip my arm open?!"

"You need to let it go. This isn't the way to solve any of your problems."

The calm demeanor surprised the teen, but he shrugged and started to walk off while massaging his sore arm. Pain. Such a familiar feeling...


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: God I feel like I'm failing at this. LOL! First time I've ever written an angsty story. Shorter chapter, as I've got some serious writer's block at the moment. :/

It had been a week since Ichigo had met with the therapist, and Isshin had condemned him to the house. Said he wanted to keep an eye on him. Really, he wasn't some stupid child who needed to be supervised. Sometimes he felt like life really wasn't worth it. Today was one of those days. Isshin was busy with patients so he made sure Ichigo was unable to hurt himself, even though he didn't feel that drastically inclined to do so in the first place. He couldn't even draw. Not a pencil within his reach.

Not too much more time had passed before he got sick of it and went downstairs. Grabbing a jacket he stopped by the clinic. "Dad, I'm going for a walk. I'm bored out of my mind."

Isshin stood up immediately. "How did you get out of your room!?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Ever heard of lock picking? It's easy with ordinary bedroom doors."

"Get back upstairs."

It was a simple command, but not one Ichigo intended to follow. Not today. "No. I told you, I'm BORED. So I am going for a WALK." he said the keywords slowly as if talking to an idiot.

Another patient came in and Isshin rolled his eyes. "Fine. Be back in an hour."

Stepping out, the teen took in a breath of fresh air before beginning to walk. It wasn't too long before he decided to turn off to the bridge near the river. He'd been under it too many times and it brought back memories. These memories were broken in an instant with a fist colliding with his face.

"Long time no see! Been a while since I've been in town, and here I find you all alone. This time, you're the one whose gonna be needing the ambulance, ginger!" Those words, That voice. He remembered. It was that same guy that attacked Chad years ago. This time was different though.

Ichigo flew to the side again with a sickening crack against the wall. This time there was no way out. One pulled out a knife and grinned. "That was one hell of a hospital bill our parents got." With this, he leaned in to slice, but missed as Ichigo side-stepped.

This was easily countered with a bat to the side from one of the others. "Not so tough anymore? Or do you need that spics help?"

Anger surged through the teen at the insults aimed at his friend who wasn't there, and reached out for a punch. It was short-lived when he felt the bite of metal in his arm. Frustration. That was all he felt. He KNEW he should've been able to out-maneuver these thugs, but he was powerless now. He no longer had the speed or the strength to compete. Completely helpless.

He groaned when he was roughly shoved against a wall, his vision swimming from the impact. The assault continued, and he swore he had a few broken bones. Hell, he had no way of fighting back. As the attacks got worst, he found himself struggling. He wanted to live. These men weren't going to give him any mercy, and he couldn't help but drown in his helplessness. Uselessness.

Just as he felt his legs begin to buckle, he felt a surge of rage. "Don't ya DARE lay another hand on King here, or ya gonna regret it!" Eyes slowly drowned in black, irises taking a familiar golden hue. "Not gonna back down? Fine wit' me." He suddenly lashed out at an incredible speed, punching the biggest threat in the gut. "Ya better rethink that, boys." Another punch. Then a kick. "Weak. Jus' get outta my sight!" He watched as the thugs ran. "Ya ok there King?" That voice, the echo. Ichigo couldn't believe it was coming from his own lips.

"You...You...How?"

The voice let out a cackle. "Dunno, don' care." His body sat down on its own. "Whatever will you do wit'out me?"

Slowly everything went dark. Slowly opening his eyes, he realized he was in his Inner World. Suddenly golden eyes jumped in his face and he let out a rather unmanly scream.

"Ahahahaha! That look! It's priceless!" Looking again he still couldn't believe his eyes, although he could never mistake this. That pure white skin, snowwy hair, the golden-black eyes, and that shit-eating grin. He couldn't stop himself from smiling. "Eh? Wha's with you all of a sudden?" The albino leaned closer, inspecting him from every angle. The albino scoffed. "Feh, I already told ya, ya ain't never gonna get rid of me. I'm gonna take ya off tha' throne one way or another!" He tensed up a bit when arms suddenly wrapped around him. "Ey, wha's the big idea?"

The teen let out a relieved sigh but didn't let go...

Chocolate eyes slowly opened, blurred vision slowly coming into focus. Getting up was a pain, and he couldn't stop the hiss that came when he'd moved his right arm in the slightest. A shiver ran through the teen as he realized it was raining, and the drops that hit his arm stung, but not as much as he'd have expected. It was getting late, and he had no idea how long he'd been out for.

Examining himself, eyes widened when the injuries weren't as bad as they'd previously been. He began to walk back to the clinic, lost in thought over what had just transpired.

As he entered the house, he felt eyes on him and he shrugged before heading upstairs. He was followed by a rather unimpressed Isshin who shut Ichigo's bedroom door behind them before turning the teen to look into unresponsive eyes. "You're late." Giving him a once-over, he shook Ichigo's shoulder. "You mind telling me what the hell you've done to yourself now?!"

Ichigo jerked away from the touch. "Nothing. I got into a fight." He couldn't help but frown as he recalled who they were. He never thought he'd run into that bunch again after the good beating he gave them years ago. "Doesn't matter. They won't be touching me again."

Isshin gave him a disbelieving look. "After all this, you really expect me to believe that?"

"No, I expect you to be the same stubborn bastard you've always been." He rolled his eyes. "Well, if that's all you've got to say, then you can leave me alone now."

He could see the look of frustration in Isshin's eyes and it only made him feel better. "Whatever."

After he left, Ichigo changed out of his dirty clothes and sat at his desk. Reaching through the drawers, he pulled out his Substitute Soul Reaper Badge and looked it over. If his hollow wasn't a dream, then maybe this would work? He pressed it against his chest and waited. When nothing happened, he threw it across the desk.

A snicker echoed through his mind for a brief second before it faded. Shaking his head, he decided it was time to rest. "Great, now my mind is playing tricks on me..." Flopping onto his bed, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Really now, could he be finally losing it? He was unable to enter his Inner World, yet he'd sworn he'd been there earlier with his hollow...


	3. Chapter 3

Grisia - I imagined he would be weak at this point. True, he fought bullies when he was young, but back then, he still had his high spiritual pressure. At this point, he lost it ALL in his fight with Aizen.

It was morning, and the sun shone in on the body that lay haphazardly across the bed. Eyes twitched and a low groan spread throughout the room. "Nnnn..." He turned over so that the sun was no longer shining over his face. The sound of steps could be faintly heard, and he had to bury his head in the pillows to block it out.

Suddenly, the door flew open. "I-chi-goooo!~" The teen rolled to the side a bit, barely avoiding the kick that was aimed for him.

Getting up, he rubbed his eyes. "Ugh, come on, do we have to do this every morning?"

"Pack your bags, son."

Ichigo looked over to his father with disbelief. "Excuse me?"

Sighing, Isshin grabbed a bag and tossed it over. "I'm going to have you visit a friend of mine, so get your things together and meet me downstairs."

"This...Isn't another attempt at therapy, is it?" The teen eyed him suspiciously.

Isshin gave his best hurt look. "Masaki! Our son doesn't want to visit my friend! What should I do?!"

Giving his best 'are-you-serious' look, Ichigo sighed. "Fine! Just shut up and go away already!" He was surprised to see that he did just that. Shrugging, he opened the bag and began to pack. First was his badge. Then some sets of underwear, followed by a few pairs of socks. Next were pants, then came shirts. He also placed a few Manga in the bag and headed downstairs to the bathroom. Grabbing his tooth brush and shampoo, Ichigo stuffed it all in the bad and zipped it up. Hoisting it over his shoulder, he stepped out. "Alright, I'm ready."

Both of his sisters smiled. "Have fun on your trip, Ichi-nii~!" So that's what the old man told them, huh? Figures.

"Alright, let's get going!" Isshin said with a smile on his face.

As they got outside and began walking, Ichigo slumped a bit. "So where exactly are we going?"

"To a friends. That's all you need to know." It wasn't long before they arrived at a familiar shop. "Well, here we are."

The door opened immediately and a tall man in a green robe came out. "Ah, I was wondering when you'd get here." Lifting the white and green bucket hat a bit, the man nodded in Ichigo's direction. "It's been a while, Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo felt the slight twitch in his eyes as he regarded the shop keeper. "Yes...It has." He turned to Isshin. "You want me to stay with Hat-n-Clogs?"

"There's nothing wrong with that! Besides, it'll do you some good to be away from the house." Isshin dragged the teen inside before sitting at a table. "Now, there are going to be some ground rules here."

The teen groaned and leaned on one arm. "Yeah yeah, go on."

"You are to help around, and will NOT complain when asked to do a few things around the shop. Also, you are to treat him with respect. And you are to be in bed by 8:00-"

That was the breaking point. Ichigo slammed his hand on the table. "Seriously?! You're giving me a curfew?! No thanks! I'll stay up as long as I please!"

Isshin stood with a serious glare. "You'll do as you're told! This rebellious attitude stops here!"

"The hell it does! I'm 17 now! Stop treating me like a child!"

"Maybe you should stop acting like one first! You aren't to come back until this habit of yours breaks! I will not subject the girls to your destructive behavior!" Isshin bellowed.

Ichigo just about lost it at that. "Oh, so that's what this is about! I would never do that! You know I love my sisters!" A familiar hatred began to surface, and he stepped back clutching his head. _You tell him!_ Trying to will the anger to go away, he heard another voice speak up.

"Alright you guys, that's enough." The shop keeper set a pot of tea on the table. "I think I can handle it from here Isshin. I'd rather not let this little fight escalate any further."

Isshin made an indignant sound but stepped down all the same. "Alright. I'll be off now." He walked out of the shop without another word.

Once Ichigo calmed down, he looked over to the shop keeper. "Where do I put my things?"

The shop keeper, known as Urahara, simply motioned the teen to follow him. Opening a door at the end of the hall, he motioned for him to enter. "You'll be staying in here with me."

The teen dropped the bag he was holding. "Wait, I'm staying in here...with you?" He looked the room over. "There's only one bed."

"Yes, but it's big enough for the two of us. I'd be a terrible host to make you sleep on the floor." He pointed at a door off to the side. "Also, that's my personal bathroom, but you are more than welcome to use it." Walking over to the bed, he sat down. "All of that aside, might I ask what is going on? Your father said you were quite unstable." He motioned for Ichigo to sit on the bed as well. "Tell me all about it."

Weighing the consequences, Ichigo slowly walked over and sat on the bed next to him. He couldn't fathom what his father was even thinking by sending him here. Don't get me wrong, Urahara isn't a bad guy, but he's...a little sketchy. Ichigo looked down at his hands a bit. "Nothing. Dad's just being an unreasonable bastard who won't mind his own damn business!" The last part came out more aggressive than he had hoped.

A light chuckle came out as Urahara lifted his hat a little. "Well, Isshin never was good with these things. But I heard something a little different. Mind if I share my side?"

Sudden anger hit Ichigo like a ton of bricks at the thought of Isshin running his mouth about things that didn't concern him, but he held his tongue and quietly seethed. "Go right ahead. Tell me just what that old goat told you."

The shop keeper could feel the teen's reiatsu spike a little, but didn't seem to care. "Well, Isshin said you've been partaking in some pretty risky behaviors. I'm usually not one to pry, but if it concerns him that much, then I have no choice but to look into it." With a quick motion, Urahara grabbed Ichigo's right arm and pulled the jacket off. "Aha, bandages. Seems like the old man wasn't lying." The playful glint was quickly replaced by a serious mask. "But it's not good. What has you so bothered that you feel the need to hu-"

Ichigo stood up with a look of fury. "Don't fucking judge me! You have no clue what's going on, and neither does he! I don't need your bullshit pity!" The anger was rising, and he felt something pull at his mind and without another word, he stormed out to the underground training facility to leave a thoroughly baffled Urahara behind.

People really just didn't get when they're not wanted. Roughly sitting on the ground, Ichigo leaned back against on of the many rocks. Slowly unwrapping his arm, he couldn't help but let out a gasp. Scars. Light scars that looks as if they might have been years old.

The sky was dark in the sideways world that was Ichigo's mind. A pale man who looked remarkably like Ichigo stood on one of the windows of the sideways sky-scraper. "Hmmm. Jus' a lil' mo', King. Ya almost there."

A/N: Sorry for keeping you all waiting. Not as long as I'd have liked, but it's better than nothing. :3


	4. Chapter 4

Ayuhime: I was hoping someone would catch that. Will be explained.

Urahara shook his head before walking out to put on some tea. It was then that he realized something. He'd felt Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure while they were talking. Normally that didn't bother him, but now that he thought about it, wasn't the boy supposed to be normal? As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he was hurriedly heading downstairs.

Hanging his head low, Ichigo sighed. Pity. They all pitied him, and he hated it. He didn't want anyone's pity. In fact, said pity only served to remind him of how pathetic he was. Why couldn't they all just stop worrying about him? One thought chained onto the next, and they were all boiling inside him. The way Orihime was so kind to him, it felt like pity. Chad? He was always trying to be there to protect him. Again, pity. He wasn't some princess! He didn't need their help! And that Urahara, talking like he has some kind of understanding, like hell he does! It was the cruelest type of irony, getting help from someone from the world that long since abandoned his after his powers faded. Used. He felt used.

It wasn't long before he'd lost all sense of thought, only the recognition of a familiar voice from the outside, calling to him. "chigo! C...own..." The words were jumbled and meaningless in his haze of hatred.

In fact, unbeknownst to himself, he was currently standing, screaming. Arms outstretched as if trying to grab ahold of something, ANYTHING. Anything to ease this burning sensation that scorched him from inside-out.

About fifteen feet away stood Urahara, cringing at the sound of absolute agony that laced the teen's voice. Taking out his Zanpaku-to, he ran forward to try to quell this raging spiritual pressure. He knew right from the start, it was extremely unstable. Not that Ichigo was ever good at controlling his reiatsu, actually far from it. But this time, it seemed different. Raw. Unrelenting. Thankfully he had built this place to hide all types of spiritual pressure from the outside world. It wouldn't be pleasant if the Soul Reapers caught wind of this.

Just before he could think to do anything productive, the teen's body crumpled to the ground unceremoniously, all traces of spiritual pressure all but a memory. It only took a moment for the shop keeper to close the distance between them and carefully lift the exhausted body from the ground, carefully carrying the boy up to his room...

Eyes slowly began to open, blinking tiredly. Ichigo was about to resume his rest until he caught sight of golden eyes. Immediately he shot up, trying to hitch away from the shit eating grin that was currently regarding him with amusement. "Ya put on quite tha' show there, King. But I doubt that guy in tha' hat was very impressed."

Brown eyes blinked repeatedly before regarding the surround area with caution. He was wet. Very wet. It was raining rather hard, and when he looked down he noticed that he was sitting on a window. "W-what..."

The hollow in front of him simply cackled. "Ya still don' get it, do ya?" It was more of a statement. "Still such a slow learnah, King. Guess I'll have to break it down for ya." He slowly walked around the alarmed teen, as if circling its prey. "M' a hollow. Tha regular rules don' apply ta me."

Realization dawned on Ichigo and he couldn't help but think back to Zangetsu. That sad look he held, as he finally agreed to showing him the Final Getsuga Tensho. What was it he said... "What I want to protect is different from what you want to protect...I want to protect YOU."

He was supposed to be Zangetsu's ally, a trusted partner. But instead, he threw him to the wind at the chance of saving everyone. How worthless Zangetsu must have felt, that his life held that little value to him.

A baritone voice broke him out of his reverie. "Like ah told ya before, ya can't ever get rid o' me." Noticing the sullen expression on his King's face, he sighed. "Ya know I hate the rain, righ'?"

There was a long silence, and finally the hollow was fed up with it. "Oi, at least ya still ave' me, tha must count for somethin, righ'?"

Ichigo slowly looked up to his hollow. "What would you care...You only want to devour me. At least Zangetsu and I came to an understanding."

So that's what this was about. The hollow frowned his distrust, but then thought of a better way to answer his moody King. "Ya remember tha' one time, when me an' you were fighting?" Getting no answer, he frowned. "I told ya tha' I was Zangetsu."

"But you aren't. You can never be. He was nothing like you." Ichigo refused to look his hollow in the eyes.

Getting closer, the hollow grinned as he put an arm around his King, to be met with a shudder. "Perhaps, but did ya stop ta consider that maybe me an' Zangetsu aren't that different? We both were born from yer soul. I'm a part of Zangetsu, jus' like I'm a part of you."

A small smile formed on Ichigos lips as he let out a sigh. "Maybe...But it's not that easy. I feel like I've betrayed his trust..." He frowned as he realized what he was doing, but shrugged it off. It didn't matter anymore. Hollow or not, he no longer had the strength to oppose it.

The hollow seemed to understand what he was thinking. Sure, he'd wanted to devour the teen before, but that was when Zangetsu was around. Now that Zangetsu was gone, he'd be alone. To devour Ichigo would be to break him, and that would leave him feeling empty. "Ah' don' want yer body anymore. Jus'...Come visit me once in a while. And don' let it rain."

Ichigo was about to respond, but he found himself being pulled back to reality. Slowly opening his eyes, he let out a small smile. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
